1. Field of the Invention
Aspects of this invention relate generally to water sports, and more particularly to a water sport training device.
2. Description of Related Art
The following art defines the present state of this field:
Water sport training devices are well known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,460,344 to Notermann on Jul. 17, 1984 teaches such a device. Such devices are designed to make the sport of water skiing easier to learn and enjoy for water skiers. However, despite the development of many approaches to water sport training, these approaches often have significant drawbacks.
A major challenge in water skiing is keeping the two skis close together in a parallel position. One solution to this problem is to connect the two skis at a fixed distance. U.S. Pat. No. 4,460,344 to Notermann on Jul. 17, 1984 teaches such a device with a pair of skis connected together.
Another approach is to use a one piece U-shaped device that simulates the experience of two separate skis. Both U.S. Pat. No. 2,841,805 to Roudebush on Jul. 8, 1958 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,585,664 to Thompson on Sep. 5, 1969 teach such a U-shaped water ski device. These devices can require starting from the shore or from very shallow water which can be very dangerous for beginning skiers. In many lakes and streams it is against the law to start from the shore.
All of these devices provide solutions to the problem of keeping skis parallel and close together. However, similar to water skis, these hybrid devices require a relatively high minimum speed to prevent the rider from sinking. Before water planing occurs, the force of the water against the skis creates a substantial amount of resistance and requires considerable leg strength and balance in order to initiate planing. Therefore, a device is needed that makes it easier to stand in an upright position on the device before planing is initiated and not requiring the skier to start from shallow water or dry land.
One approach to make the transition from a non-moving position to a standing moving position is to provide a seat for the skier. U.S. Pat. No. 4,606,728 to Simpson on Aug. 19, 1986 teaches an inflatable seat as a water ski aid, wherein the inflatable seat does not travel with the ski, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,865,572 to Andes on Sep. 12, 1989 teaches an attached support seat for a ski but does not have an inflatable buoyant rider support. Standing on the skis is easier starting from a seated position above the water. Despite the benefit of providing a seat, neither of these devices provide any alternative solution, other than a curved front lip, to the problem of the front of the ski submerging under the water when being towed. Therefore a device is needed that reduces the tendency of a towed object being pulled underwater.
As mentioned, another challenge in water-skiing is keeping the nose of the ski from diving under the water. This is also true for water sport devices that can be towed without a person on the device. Such devices are usually designed with the front edge extending upwards to avoid the front diving into the water. U.S. Pat. No. 6,386,932 to Murphy on May 14, 2002 teaches a hydrofoil water sport device that uses inflatable pontoons on each side of the hydrofoil, in addition to having a front edge extending upwards. The inflatable pontoons give the hydrofoil device additional buoyancy that reduces the tendency of the device to dive into the water when being towed. The pontoons must be enlarged in such a device to achieve sufficient buoyancy. However, despite features to reduce dive tendency of a device when towed without a rider, the Murphy device teaches and requires a user to manually hold the tow rope attached directly to the boat. As such, the device cannot be towed without a rider or when capsized. The device does not have an inflatable or substantially buoyant center seat which is preferable to support and stabilize the rider and allow the device to be towed by the boat. With the tow rope in the skier's hands, the skier will feel the full force of the boat pulling the tow rope, which requires a great deal of upper body strength and coordination to hold on. Therefore a water-skiing training device is needed that does not require the skier to directly hold the tow rope being pulled by the boat, while it also provides for a reduced tendency to dive when the device is either upright or capsized.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,306,000 to Parten et al. on Oct. 23, 2001 teaches the use of a training platform designed to be attached to the boat. This towing system attempts to reduce the breakage that is inherent from the present tow systems which attach the tow rope to the water planing devices. However, breakage is not significantly reduced with such a device because the tow system does not substantially reduce the diving inherent from ski platforms and because the tow rope is attached directly to the training platform, creating stress points on the platform. Therefore, a water-skiing training device is needed that provides for reduced diving tendency when being towed and that provides a more efficient attachment means that does not attach directly to the training platform.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,713,773 to Churchill on Feb. 3, 1998 teaches an inflatable water sport device with seat and handles not attached directly to the main tow rope. The problem of direct force on the rider from the tow rope is alleviated by connecting the tow rope to the front of the vehicle and having two handles attached to the front of the device for the rider to hold for stability without requiring a great deal of upper body strength. However, because of the fixed location of the handles of the Churchill device, no adjustment can be made for the height of the rider as the rider moves from a seated position to a standing position. Also the device does not provide for a rigid or semi-rigid floor upon which a skier may stand because the device is only an inflatable and does not provide the stability necessary for standing. Therefore a water-skiing training device is needed that provides a handle that can adjust with the skier as the skier stands, and a rigid or semi-rigid floor, as well as a bottom planing surface area that replicates the parallel position of water skis. It would be desirable to provide an inflatable water ski training device that is capable of planing at low speeds and maintaining structural rigidity to allow for low speed towing. It would also be desirable to provide an inflatable water ski training device that is capable of being towed when in either an upright or capsized position.
As the prior art shows, a variety of water sport training devices already exists. A popular training device is the one-piece U-shaped ski. Even though the U-shaped ski can be difficult to use for young and new skiers and may require shore starts and assistance to hold the skier above water, this device is a good intermediate training device before attempting to ski on traditional water skis. However, it can become expensive to buy multiple water sport training devices. Preferably, a needed training device would use the popular U-shaped platform, while also accommodating the needs of more advanced skiers. Therefore a water sport training device is needed that can incorporate a wide variety of existing water sport training platform shapes.
Thus, there is a need for a water sport training device that solves the problem of keeping skis together in a parallel position as well as provide a seat to make it easier to stand in an upright position on the device. The needed invention would provide beginners the advantage of starting from a dry out-of-the-water seated position. The needed invention would also include inflatable stability bladders to reduce the tendency of a towed object being pulled underwater while either upright or capsized. Such a needed device would further avoid having the skier directly hold the tow rope being pulled by the boat, but still provide a handle that can adjust with the skier as the skier stands. Additionally, the needed invention may incorporate existing water sport training platform shapes made of wood or other materials. The needed invention would further provide the stability from the combined inflatable bladder with the rigid or semi-rigid platform necessary to train water skiers in basic maneuvers.
Aspects of the present invention fulfill these needs and provide further related advantages as described in the following summary.